How Physical Security Protects Properties During Public Demonstrations

Civil unrest, protests and other public demonstrations are often peaceful events that are designed to attract attention to a cause or celebrate a particular achievement (such as gatherings to commemorate a sports event, etc.). However, in some cases, these large gatherings become unpredictable and, unfortunately, violence and property damage are possible.

For example, consider the recent protests in Portland, Oregon that turned into riots. These events started off as peaceful and orderly, but a smaller group involved in the demonstrations resorted to violence, which led to property damage that exceeded $1 million.

That is an issue to focus on and be concerned about. When a large group gathers, it does not take much for a small segment of the group to become violent and disorderly. When this happens, due to the size of the overall demonstration, to can be difficult for the authorities to control the situation. In such a situation, significant damage can occur quite quickly.

For this reason, it is important that you take steps to protect your property from potential damage. One very effective way to secure your property is by utilizing physical security.

How Physical Security Gates Protect Properties

There are a number of reasons why physical security is so effective. As mentioned, during times of civil unrest, police officers and other authorities may have difficulty controlling the situation. This is often due to crowd size as well as because several smaller protests or incidents may be taking place at various locations at the same time, which stretches the police force very thin. Since this is true, it’s often not reasonable to expect police to protect business properties. Other crimes, such as physical violence, as well as general crowd control will likely take priority.

Private security guards can also become overwhelmed by a large protest or demonstration.

If your property is equipped with alarm systems or surveillance cameras, these tools may not be effective during a large demonstration. As mentioned, the authorities will be otherwise occupied and  therefore unable to respond to security alarms. In addition, during large protests, it can be very difficult to identify individual members of a crowd, which makes video footage captured by security cameras less useful. In some situations, protesters may wear hoods or scarves to hide their identities.

Physical security gates place a barrier between individuals and your property. This makes it much, much more difficult to cause damage and break windows, doors, etc. Most of the damage that occurs during moments of civil unrest is caused by baseball bats, crowbars, rocks, and other similar tools. These weapons are not effective against security gates.

In addition, physical security gates are easy to use and can very quickly be locked in place as needed. If your business is open during a public demonstration, you can very easily lock the gates and protect your property in just a few moments. This is crucial as protests often grow very quickly and change course without advanced notice. Being able to secure your property in just a few minutes gives you a significant advantage and an opportunity to drastically reduce the likelihood of your location being damaged.